macOS 13 Ventura removed the drivers for older Broadcom Wi-Fi chipsets. If your Mac shipped with one, Wi-Fi hardware stops being detected the moment you cross into Ventura or later.
OCLP restores those drivers as part of root patching — so “no Wi-Fi” after an upgrade almost always means the root patches aren't applied. Run Post-Install Root Patch and reboot.
Which Macs this actually affects
It's determined by the wireless card, not the Mac's model year, and the split is sharp:
| Wireless chipset | Roughly which Macs | On Ventura and later |
|---|---|---|
| BCM94322 / BCM94331 | Most Macs from about 2008 to 2012 | Driver removed. Needs OCLP root patches. |
| Atheros | Some 2008–2010 models | Removed earlier. Support is more limited; check the Dortania guide for your exact card. |
| BCM94360 / BCM943602 / BCM94350 | Most Macs from about 2013 onward | Works natively. No patch, unaffected by updates. |
To check yours: hold Option and click the Apple menu → System Information → Wi-Fi. Read the Card Type line. If it names BCM94360 or newer, your Wi-Fi problem isn't this one.
Restoring it
The legacy Wi-Fi drivers are part of the standard root patch set, so there's nothing Wi-Fi-specific to select:
Get online another way, temporarily.
Ethernet, a USB-C or Thunderbolt adapter, or USB tethering from a phone. You need a connection to fetch the current OCLP build, and this is the step people get stuck on — sort it before you start.
Install the latest OCLP.
From the download page. Legacy Wi-Fi handling has changed across releases; an old build may not patch a current macOS correctly.
Run Post-Install Root Patch and reboot.
Wi-Fi returns alongside graphics acceleration and Bluetooth — the same pass restores all of them.
Re-join your network.
Saved networks sometimes don't reconnect on their own after the card reappears. Pick it manually once and it sticks.
Plan this before upgrading, not after. If your only internet is the Wi-Fi you're about to lose, and you have no Ethernet or adapter, you'll be stuck on a machine that can't download the tool that fixes it. Download the OCLP PKG first and keep it on the drive.
When it's still missing after patching
Work through these in order — they're arranged by how often they turn out to be the answer:
- Confirm the patches actually applied. Reopen OCLP → Post-Install Root Patch. If it still offers to install patches, the run didn't complete — check for an error and run it again.
- Reset NVRAM. Shut down, then power on holding
Option+Command+P+R. Stale wireless state is cached there more often than you'd expect. - Check System Information again. If the Wi-Fi section now reads No information found where it previously named a card, the issue is hardware-side — a dislodged antenna or a failed card, common on machines that have been opened for an SSD swap.
- Remove and re-add the interface. System Settings → Network → remove Wi-Fi with the minus button, then add it back.
The permanent fix, if you're willing to open the Mac
On most 2008–2012 Macs the wireless card is a replaceable mini-PCIe module, and swapping in a BCM94360-family card moves you onto natively supported hardware. Wi-Fi then works with no root patches at all, survives every macOS update untouched, and usually brings AirDrop and Handoff with it.
It's a genuine teardown on laptops — worth it if you're already inside for an SSD or battery, hard to justify as a standalone job. Verify the exact card your model accepts before buying; the connector and antenna count differ across generations.
Common questions
Why did Apple remove these drivers?
Ventura dropped the older IO80211 wireless stack that those chipsets depended on. It affected officially supported Macs too — several models Apple still supported lost features in the same transition.
Will Wi-Fi break again on the next macOS update?
Yes, if your Mac relies on patched legacy drivers — that's true of every root-patched component. Reapply patches after each update and it comes straight back. See root patches explained for why.
Can I use a USB Wi-Fi adapter instead?
You can, and it's a reasonable stopgap while you sort things out, but check for current macOS drivers before buying — many cheap adapters ship drivers that stopped being updated years ago, which just trades one unsupported driver for another.
Bluetooth went at the same time. Related?
Almost certainly the same root cause. On these Macs the Bluetooth module is part of the same card and its legacy driver is restored by the same root patch pass. Fix one and you fix both.